Publication Order of Extinction Files Books

Extinction Files is a series of Sci-Fi thriller novels written by AG Riddle. The books follow the exploits of a CDC epidemiologist who must prevent a secret society from destroying the world.

+The Story
AG Riddle knows how to write apocalyptic science fiction. He proved as much with the Atlantis novels. So no one was particularly surprised when the author announced the publication of the Extinction Files, a series that takes a deeper dive into the author’s love for science and its destructive capacity.

The Extinction Files is technically the story of Doctor Peyton Shaw, though various other characters with important roles to play make an appearance.

When two Americans in Kenya are diagnosed with a disease that closely resembles Ebola, Doctor Peyton Shaw is called upon to investigate. As the CDC’s leading epidemiologist, Peyton knows the destruction that biological organisms can wreak on civilization.

She has spent her career preparing for the worst possible outcomes. And when she hears about the case in Kenya, she knows that the worst has indeed come to pass. Except that when she gets to the scene of the outbreak and once she takes a few preliminary investigative steps, Peyton realizes that there might be so much more going on than meets the eye.

Doctor Peyton Shaw’s first outing in the Extinction Files series is essential reading. These books cannot be consumed out of order. Each novel builds upon the plot threads and the concepts of its predecessor and if you don’t read ‘Pandemic’, the first novel in the series, ‘Genome’, its sequel, won’t make that much sense to you.

Even though Peyton is an essential component of the first novel, she isn’t the only protagonist of the story. Readers are also introduced to Desmond Hughes. A wealthy man that runs an investment firm, Desmond’s role in the events of ‘Pandemic’ kicks off when he wakes up in Berlin with absolutely no memory who he is or where he might be.

As Peyton and Desmond’s paths cross, they quickly realize that they are only two pieces of a very large puzzle that they must solve if they are to save the world.

The Extinction Files books, it should be said, are mysteries more than anything. Of course, as is often the case with AG Riddle novels, the series has a lot of action. In fact, some of the sequences that the author contrives stretch believability.

Even diehard Riddle fans will tell you that his heroes accomplish far more than the average human being, no matter how intelligent or athletically gifted, could ever achieve.

Peyton and Desmond, and the rest of the cast are extraordinary. Sure, they are prone to melodramatic interactions. But for the most part, when push comes to shove, they will rise to the occasion and overcome incredible odds to beat the bad guys.

And yet, the Extinction Files series is driven more by its mysteries than anything else. Each novel begins with a puzzle. Some sort of medical discovery or development in biological science always arises in the beginning.

Innocent lives are lost as a result, and at first, the heroes are too busy running around, trying to get ahead of the threat to pay much attention to the underlying clues. But as things escalate, they begin to investigate, eventually concluding that what looked like a fatal accident of nature was actually the work of an intelligent mind.

This then sends the protagonists on an epic journey to find both the source of the biological threat and the means to neutralize it.

Most readers you meet will commend this series for its mysteries. AG Riddle always captures the attention of his audience in the first half of his novels because they have no idea what is going on.

So they can’t get enough of the author’s trickle of answers. It isn’t until Riddle begins to reveal everything that complaints arise. Many a review of the Extinction Files series has made mention of the fact that Riddle’s stories always become too convoluted.

There are way too many plot threads progressing at the exact same time. Additionally, once the author begins to provide answers to all the questions, his stories become more like Dan Brown books, with the science and the investigative work taking a back seat in favor of fantastical action and explosions.

Criticisms have also been thrown at Peyton Shaw, the protagonist of the story and a strong female heroine who spends so many pages worrying about her love life. This same complaint has been raised against Riddle’s other supposedly strong female protagonists in this series.

+The Author
AG Riddle was a businessman. He spent a decade creating internet companies and he was pretty good at it. But then his love for fiction came calling and he decided to give writing a shot.

+Pandemic
Doctor Peyton Shaw received a call she had spent years dreading. It came rather suddenly. Two Americans in Kenya had been diagnosed with an ailment that mirrored Ebola and from what Shaw’s colleagues could see, it had the potential to spiral into a global pandemic.
Shaw is sent off to Kenya where she joins forces with Kenyan officials and WHO personnel to contain the infections. Shaw wanted to keep her attention solely focused on the events of the small Kenyan village.

But then she realized that the Kenyan outbreak was merely the first stage of a deadly conspiracy.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, Desmond Hughes woke up in a hotel room with a dead man, unaware of his identity, what he was doing in the hotel or how he was connected to the outbreak in Kenya.

+Genome
Doctor Paul Kraus was researching a lost human tribe that went extinct when he discovered something amazing: a code. Kraus hid his findings and promptly disappeared.

Now Peyton Shaw needs Kraus and his work. There is a global conspiracy afoot that is hellbent on changing mankind. Shaw and her mother cannot let it proceed unchallenged.

But if they want to stop the shadowy group working behind the scenes to shape humanity, they must decipher the cryptic message Kraus left behind.

Thriller Master Harlan Coben is back! The man of a thousand twists is back with his latest edge of the seat thriller. A perfect family has lost their daughter to drugs and an abusive boyfriend. The parent sees her in Central Park one day and approaches her. However she runs, and she's clearly in trouble. Of course if you're a Coben fan you don't even need a description - you know this book is going to be good. More Details.

Recommendations

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MISSING A BOOK?

I do my best to make sure the book lists are complete and current, but due to human or machine error while attempting to keep 3000+ authors up to date, the occasional book can be missed or will be listed under an alternate title. If you see one missing just send me an e-mail below. Thanks!

Author / Series

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Featured Series

One of my favourite series is the Brilliance Saga by Marcus Sakey and it is our featured series of the month. It's just an incredible light sci-fi series that fans of "Dark Matter" would also enjoy. It's free on Kindle Unlimited too! More Details.

Featured Author

It’s always exciting when an author starts a new series, and romantic suspense author of the Daniel Vartanian trilogy Karen Rose has started a new series recently. It’s called the Sacramento series and begins with Say You’re Sorry. Karen is our author of the month! Check out our Karen Rose page.

Did You Know…

After graduating from school, Dan Brown then went to Amherst College to obtain a degree in English and Spanish. He graduated in the year of 1986 and then later spent numerous years trying to get himself established as a singer cum songwriter and pianist, but unfortunately was met with very minimal success.